Internationally, Tropical Rock Oysters (TRO) have a poor food safety reputation with Vibrio at the top of the list. Vibrios are aquatic microorganisms, some species of which cause serious diseases in humans and other animals

So if vibrio diversity and abundance in TRO is seasonal, it is likely that Vibrio spp. infections in humans will also follow a seasonal trend which has implications for risk management. A major bottleneck is that we don’t know how vibrios respond to storage and transport temperatures in TRO. We know that the Pacific and Sydney Rocks respond differently so it is not ‘one size fits all’ and it is certain TROs will be different again.

In addition to identifying vibrio baselines in TRO and developing tests for toxigenic species, this project aims to identify the best post-harvest storage and transport temperatures and assess TRO shelf life at realistic storage temperatures. This will provide fundamental information to inform cold supply chains that will support farmers, wholesalers and retailers of TROs from north Australia. This information will assist in informing an appropriate and regionally relevant vibrio risk profile for TRO in northern Australia to assist initial risk management activities.